Strong
by Sam-453
Summary: Chapter 3 up!Ok... this is a weird one. Cross with DA again, basically manticore has followed on from the initiative. (demon DNA)
1. Default Chapter

            Woohoo, my muse is back in the form of a laptop!! I have a whole new story for you!! I actually started it a while ago, but wasn't planning to actually bother with it any more, but yey, he muse is back and I'm giving it a chance! This is a little odd, but hey, that's just about me in a nutshell, so its all good!

(Oh yeah, and Becca, I told u I'd post it!! So this is kinda 4 u!)

Disclaimer: I don't own dark angel or Buffy. But people I make up, like Naomi, are mine!! 

Strong 

"Hey Faith, what's up?" Buffy asked, stepping out into the courtyard at the back of the hotel.

            "Nothin'." Faith said, smiling. "God, it feels like such a long time since I've been able to say that."

            "I know how you feel."

            "So… Angel doesn't mind the mini-slayer gang?"

            "Na. Between you an' me, I think he has other things on his mind. But hey, its not as if he doesn't have enough room."

            "Screwy about Cor, huh?" Faith said.

            "Yeah, but ooh! Its not you unconscious for once!"

            "No." Faith laughed. "Is it just me, or does the whole deal here sound a little… off?"

            "What? What d'ya mean?"

            "I dunno… it's like something's missing… oh well, probably just me…anything interesting going on?"

            "Nope. Willow is playin' around on the net… she insists its totally un-demon-related, but I think she has withdrawal."  The two slayers laughed, but we're cut off by a yell from inside.

            "Oh my goddess! Buffy!" They ran back inside, to find Willow starring disbelievingly at the computer screen.

            "What? Willow, what is it?"

            "I… I found something. I just wanted a bit of a challenge, y'know, and I found something with loadsa passwords and things… oh goddess, Buffy, I think it's part of the initiative! It has the same encoding pattern!"

            "Wait a sec." Faith said, "You wanted a challenge, so you hacked into government files?" She shook her head, "I thought I was supposed to be the crazy one." 

Willow smiled sarcastically, and turned back to the screen.

            "Buffy… from what I've got so far, this is way past the initiative… they sent off DNA samples and stuff like that to who ever these guys are… I think they're trying something a step on form sticking demons together like Adam. They're using genetic engineering, Buffy."

            "What do you mean? They're making more Adams? Just, from scratch?"

            "Yup. But it's DNA, and from what I can figure, they'll have to use human stuff too, and surrogates… These things, will be technically human, but with… well the idea must be that they have super human strength and speed and stuff."

            "God… they really are messing with stuff they don't understand. What if this goes wrong? Like with Adam? I don't like to mess with government stuff, but demons… that's our turf." Buffy said. Faith nodded. "But… Will, can you get us anything solid, like location?"

            "Erm… oh, there's something about the Wyoming facility… oh, and… here, that's more specific."

            "Oh damn it." Buffy cursed. "I can't go off to Wyoming with all these guys here…"

            "I'll do it." Faith said, "First of all, I'm already a wanted criminal, so we don't need to worrying about screwing up my record, and secondly, you're the boss, you need to be here… I'll do the recon."

            "You'll need help." Buffy said.

            "I'll be fine."

            "No you wont. You need help with breaking and entering, and if something happens to you…"

            "Did someone say breaking and entering?" A voice asked from the front door. The slayers looked up sharply at the tightly clad woman standing in the doorway.

            "Gwen." Angel gasped, coming out of the office. "What are you doing here?"

            "Nice to see you too. I see you got reinforcements…" She looked round as a group of teenage girls burst through the door, chatting loudly, "Or you started a day care centre." 

Angel laughed,

            "Er… Gwen, this is Buffy and Faith, the …kinda…original vampire slayers. That's Willow, Xander, oh, and Kennedy and all of that lot are new slayers. Everyone, this is Gwen."

            "Ok… I may not be the expert on demon stuff, but I thought there was only meant to be one slayer?"

            "Ah, yeah." Buffy said, "Long story." And for once no one argued. Gwen shrugged,

            "So… Breaking an' enterin'?"

            "Oh!" Angel exclaimed, "Gwen could help you guys! She can… well…" 

Gwen rolled her eyes, and held up one hand. With an effort (since Gunn helped her get the funny electric gadget thing, she can touch people, but she can use her power if she wants to) Gwen made electricity spark between her fingers. Faith raised her eyebrows.

            "Definitely useful." She agreed. So they filled her in.

Next day, Gwen and Faith were on a plane, heading to the address Willow had found.

(Ok, I KNOW how unlikely it is that it wud be that simple, but I just wanna get them there so leave it ok? This isn't exactly the most important bit of the story.)

            "We all set?" Faith whispered as she joined Gwen by a large, electronically locked door.

            "Yep, you deal with the guards?"

            "Oh yeah." Faith grinned.

            "Then here we go." Gwen said, laying her hand over the lock, and quietly frying the circuits. They opened the door, and snuck into the office. Soon they were looking through computer files, emails, and just about everything they could need, helped by Willow on a phone to get past passwords. Eventually they found lab locations too, and left the office as discreetly as they came in.

(I know that government guys would be all over them by now, but in case u didn't realise, I'm rushing this bit of the story to get to the interesting bits!!)

Faith swallowed, absolutely positive that there was no way someone hadn't realised they were there by now. The lab was perfect, brilliant white all around, only punctuated by glistening steel now and then.

            "What the hell are we doing here?" Faith said into the walkie-talkie she held. (Gwen was outside, on the look out.) 

            "I dunno, finding stuff out." She replied.

            "Well… there isn't anything solid here! No demons to slay… jeez, I dunno what I was expecting, but this is hopeless."

            "Oh shit! Faith get out of there! Get out! I'll meet you at the rendezvous! There's a load of military dudes headed your way. Get out! Now!"

Faith was already half way out. She moment Gwen had yelled, she had started off at a sprint. Nearing the exit, she prayed she'd be ok, but the sound of the door opening forced her to turn back round, running for another exit. 

            Gwen stood at the rendezvous. She'd been there nearly an hour, but was terrified to believe what she knew was true. Faith had been caught. Eventually, she gave up on the fight with her conscience, and let it over rule. She headed back to the lab. When she got there, she couldn't believe her eyes. In one hour, it had been stripped. Gwen felt sure it must be the wrong place, but knew it wasn't. There was no sign of any experiments. All the equipment was gone. Faith was gone.

            Faith didn't open her eyes. Instead, she allowed her clearing senses to take in anything she could. The first thing she heard was footsteps. Then voices, and she felt a man standing over her. 

            "Extraordinary, isn't it?" He was saying. "She is one hundred percent human, but stronger than any I've ever seen. Even the drugged up initiative boys weren't this strong, and their hearts were going haywire. This girl is in perfect fitness." Faith now realised the severity of her situation. She was tied down to a bed of some kind, in a government facility connected with the initiative. As she became more awake, the fight came back to her… she'd taken out a whole squadron of swat guys before she was eventually taken down by many tasers. 

            "Ah, she's awake." Another voice said. Faith stiffened, how did he know that!? "My dear," He continued, "Breathing patterns change when you are sleeping or waking. Plus you just reacted when I said you were awake." 

Faith's eyes snapped open. She was pissed.

            "Much better." Said the first man. Faith looked him up and down. He was a short man, in his twenties, maybe early thirties, with blond hair, and dark eyes. "Who are you?" He demanded.

            "Santa Claus." Faith replied, then she screamed as a taser was thrust into her midriff. 

            "Who are you?"

            "Sorry, sorry… the Tooth Fairy…" Another scream.

            "Who are you?"

            "I'm Faith." She said eventually, what harm could it really do? But the taser came again.

            "Who…"

            "Faith!" she yelled, "That's my name, you bastard! Damn that hurts!" 

The blond man chuckled.

            "So, Faith, Would you please tell me what you were doing in that lab?"

            "What lab?" She knew it was pointless, but there was some part of her that had vowed to make this a hard as possible. Whether it was meant to be hard for them, or her, she had not yet decided. Gasping for breath after another scream, she said, Takin' a tour. You're messin' with things you don't understand."

            "Really?" He asked, "And what would that be?"

            "Demons, dumb ass." Again with the taser.

            "I don't know what you are talking about."

            "Then you really are in trouble." Faith quipped. When the pain receded, she had finally lost the remainder of her temper. "You hit me with that one more time, and I will say nothing more, you hear!? You can fry me for all I care, but I won't even scream for you!" She yelled. The blond man smiled, and tasered her. Faith flinched, but she didn't even groan. He frowned, and hit her again, but no matter what he did, she seemed to somehow be in a place where she didn't feel the pain. Soon he gave up, but was even more intrigued at how this apparently normal girl could withstand all this.

            "Alright then." He breathed, "No more pain, you just talk, ok? What were you looking for? What do you know?"

Faith smiled, 

            "Nothing. I'm a thief, I was looking for stuff to nick."

            "No you weren't. How are you this strong?"

            "Because my mum was super woman." 

He tensed, and reached for the taser, but Faith made a 'tsk tsk' noise, and he stopped, grimacing.

            "Look, little girl, you are in a whole bunch of trouble. You aren't getting out of here. Talking will just make things easier for you."

            "I'm not getting out? So really, that mean I'm screwed whether I talk or not, and it just makes things easier for _you_." She could actually hear him grinding his teeth. She grinned. Then she thought of why she was here- to try to stop this thing from happening. Faith rolled her eyes and sighed. "Look, you're using HST DNA, right?" Lydecker's jaw dropped,

            "How do you…?"

            "Not important. Don't you know how the initiative ended? Lots of death! Demons aren't just animals, dumbass, they're demons! As in from other dimensions, fuelled by evil an' all?" She stopped as a nasty smile came to Lydecker's face. He called a soldier into the room, and ordered him to bring a file to him. Faith didn't like the sound of this. Soon the grunt returned, and Lydecker flicked through pages.

            "Ah. This is it. There were reports of some civilians involved in the initiative. They claimed things about magical powers… apparently one of them was unnaturally strong… they called her a 'slayer'." He looked down at Faith's nervous face, and positively grinned. "So that's it then? You are one of these 'slayers'? I think that could be very interesting, don't you think, doctor?" The other man nodded,

            "Oh definitely sir. With her strength… I think, maybe we could even use her as the surrogate after the prep work… since she can't leave anyway."

            "Surrogate!?" Faith exclaimed, "What the f*ck do you mean by that?" Suddenly she was even more desperate to get out. Lydecker seemed overjoyed,

            "You my dear, are a perfect specimen for mixing into our soldiers… and it would be interesting to see if you actually carrying one of them would make a difference."

            "Me? A mom? Uh-uh… see I'm really no good with kids…"

            "Oh don't worry, once it was born, you'd never even see it again."

            "Soo not the point dude!" She cried. Lydecker smiled broader. "I… I… I smoke!" she said triumphantly.

            "That can be worked around." Lydecker told her. 

            "You can't do this!" Faith yelled.

            "Watch me. Doctor?" Lydecker stood back, and Faith struggled as much as she could while a needle penetrate her arm, and darkness consumed her again.

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Cue dramatic music. Lol. Please review.


	2. Manticore

Sorry its been so long. Hope u like. Chapter 2 

            "I don't understand what happened." Gwen said, "She was just gone… all of it was gone…" She was back in LA. She'd stayed to look for Faith, even after calling the LA crew, but eventually she had to give up.

            "I shouldn't have let her go." Buffy said.

            "Buffy, it wasn't your fault." Several people said.

            "Wasn't it?" She sighed, "Will, I want you to find out everything there is to know about these gits."

            "Already on it." Willow said with a sympathetic smile.

            "I'm not losing her again." Buffy said quietly.

Two months later.

Faith sat in the corner of the room, starring blankly at the wall. How could this really be happening? She kept thinking. She'd been moved to a ward with nineteen other girls a few weeks ago, but had spoken to none of them. Lydecker didn't see any risk in letting her have as much freedom as the others. She wouldn't escape. Faith had spent every minute of ever day thinking of ways out. Every time she was taken to a lab for test, she'd memorise the routes. But there were no visible weaknesses.

It was only in the last couple of days that Faith had begun to consider what was actually happening to her. She had begun to throw up every day… not just in the morning. She felt like sh*t, and she knew a life was growing within her. She also knew, unlike the others, what that life consisted of. Part of it was what Faith had spent her life fighting. That which she hated. Part of it was demon. And that made her feel even more sickened. When she'd first thought of it, she'd refused her next meal, deciding to starve herself to death rather than give them the satisfaction of doing this to her, but the moment Lydecker realised, Faith found herself with tubes in her throat- if she wouldn't eat, then Lydecker would force her to ingest the food the baby needed. 

            A nurse came into the room, calling them to dinner. Lydecker was waiting outside, and called to Faith. She didn't meet his eyes, but murmured,

            "I'll eat." 

Lydecker smiled, convinced he really was breaking her spirit. In truth, Faith had made a split second decision to eat in order to conserve her strength and escape…plus she really didn't need another reason to feel sick. Lydecker considered feeding her in the less pleasant way anyway, but knew the struggle would not be good for the child she carried, so he let it slide, allowing Faith to eat with the others.  

It was yet another week before one of the other girls dared to approach the solitary figure in the corner.

            "Erm, Faith, isn't it?" She said timidly.

            "What?" Faith snapped.

            "I just wanted to see if you were ok." She said defensively. "You seem to be taking it worse than the others."

            "That would be because they volunteered for it, wouldn't it?" Faith said. The girl was shocked,

            "You didn't?"

            "No! You think I'd be here if I didn't have to be? I didn't damn well volunteer, no."

            "So then, how… well, why are you here?"

            "Cos they thought it would be an interesting experiment." Faith said bitterly. The girl's eyes were full of pity for this girl she didn't know.

            "Because of how strong you are?" She asked. Faith raised an eyebrow, and the girl shrugged, "I saw you wrestling with those guards when you wouldn't eat, and that's when you're feeling like I know you do right now."

            "Why did you volunteer for this?" Faith asked, her voice hollow.

            "I didn't know it would be exactly this… I just… you gotta understand, I had nothing… they offered me quite a bit of money, plus food and board for about ten months… I didn't know it was this until I got here, and now it's too late. I guess I have no right to complain."

            "Of course you have the right to complain!" Faith exclaimed, "I bet they didn't put in the contract that the food was practically gruel and the board was a locked room! Plus all the tests, and chemicals they shoot into you… not to mention the thing they've put inside you…"

            "You really don't like babies, huh?" the girl replied with a mirthless chuckle.

            "It's not the babies…" Faith said. The girl frowned, "They're… you wouldn't even understand… or believe me for that matter."

            "They're what?"

            "They used demon DNA. These babies are part demon."

            "So?" The answer shocked Faith. The other girl smiled, "I lived in a town that was totally swarming with demons and vampires when I was young… I know they're real, and that they're nasty… but these aren't really demons! Even if they have a bit, they're mostly human, and I don't know about you, but I know that whatever is inside me is not evil."

Faith had no retort to that. She was a slayer, and if she was to be true to her own senses, she knew the being within her, however early in development it was, had a soul. It was, as the girl had said, mostly human. If it had a bit of demon in, a bit of other creatures too, that was just extra. Over all, this child was human… and it was hers. Through and through. These other girl were just surrogates, but Faith knew that her child was actually hers. It had no father, so she was all it had. Right then, she decided to get out, with the child.

            "I'm gonna get out of here." Faith said.

            "Is that even possible?"

            "Anything is possible." She laughed shortly, "Have a little faith." 

The other girl smiled,

            "If you think you can really get out, then I'd like to come too."

            "What about the money?"

            "Screw the money. This is my kid. I'm Naomi." She held out a hand. Faith shook it without hesitation. If Buffy had taught Faith one thing, it was that an ally was always a good thing.

Faith motioned to Naomi, and they slunk silently down the corridor. The guard who'd thought they needed the toilet, lay unconscious in a cupboard near the girls' room. Waiting by the corner of the corridor, Faith placed one hand on her increasingly swollen stomach, reminding herself how important this was. They proceeded round the corner, and headed for the door at the end. Faith didn't know exactly where it lead, only that that was the way any guards or doctors went when they were on a break, or going home from a shift. They were almost at the door. The door was open… the two girls were running down the corridor on the other side. Faith glanced back to check on Naomi as she reached the next door. She was gone. Faith turned right round, to see Naomi frozen, Lydecker's gun to the back of her head.

            "Go ahead, Faith." Lydecker said. "The door is right there." Faith looked round at the door, only feet away.

            "Go!" Naomi yelled, "Get out!" But Faith could see the pain in the girl's eyes. The slayer sighed… she knew that Lydecker had predicted this as the only way to stop her. With tears in her eyes, Faith dropped to her knees, hands behind her head. Naomi cried out as guards rushed forwards, grabbing Faith. She was dragged back into the depths of the compound once more, her cheeks wet with tears. But Faith was not returned to the room. She was taken to a separate one, and strapped down to a bed.

            "You see Faith, we gave you the chance to have it easy, but your punishment for trying to escape, and convincing another to follow you, is solitude. You will spend the remainder of your pregnancy in here, and the adjoining rooms. You will have no more contact with anyone but myself, the doctors and the guards."

            "I guess we'll get to know each other better then." Faith said smiling bitterly.

            "And any more bad behaviour will result in the punishment of 494." Lydecker added, using the number the doctors referred to them by for Naomi. Faith swallowed, trying to dispel the knot of terror and sorrow in her throat. She really did hate being the good guy.

"Nothing?" Buffy asked despairingly.

"No, there's lots, but nothing about the location of their secret projects. I'm sorry Buffy." Willow replied. They'd tried everything from internet searches to magical locator spells, but it seemed that Faith had just disappeared.

Please review.


	3. Truth and lies

Chapter 3 

It had been the most boring nine months of Faith's life. The child within her caused the only excitement, by apparently trying to kick it's way out of her. Through the pain, Faith smiled in pride. Her kid was strong; Very strong. But all too soon, Faith found herself dreading the birth. She did not want to have this child, because once she did, it would be taken away. She probably wouldn't even see her own daughter- she knew instinctively that she was a girl.  So when she felt wetness, and a tight pain in her stomach, she tried to hide it as much as possible. God knows what she was gonna do- its not as if she could really hide labour from the doctors, but she wanted to try. It was pointless. Next time a doctor came to check on her, he saw the strained look that she couldn't help, and knew what was happening. Lydecker was there moments later, smiling at her,

"So it's time." He said. "Be a good girl now." He gave the order for her to be moved into another room for the delivery, and several doctors removed her restraints and helped her out of her room. The moment she was through the door, Faith fought as hard as she could. She knocked doctors flying, but could not run. Doctors and soldiers grabbed her, dragging her literally kicking and screaming down the hall,

"No! You can't take her!" She yelled, "I wont let you take my baby! NO!" But it was no good. She was flung onto another bed, and strapped down again. A doctor filled a syringe with something Faith knew she didn't want inside her, and said,

"Don't worry, you wont feel a thing." Faith yelled with anger and pain as another contraction commenced, but the doctor stuck the needle into her arm, and she felt her eyes droop as tears flowed from them.

"No…" She whimpered, and everything went dark.

Faith awoke slowly. She could feel soft sheets beneath her, and the air smelt fresh, clean… she tried to remember the last time she'd awoken to such a nice smell, and all she could come up with was when she'd lived in that kick ass apartment the mayor gave her. It took a while for her mind to travel from there to the present, and everything that had happened.

Her eyes snapped open, the grogginess of her long sedation rapidly receding. Her arms and legs were strapped down, but she could just about sit up. Faith frowned. She was in a small room, with white walls, white sheets, and peachy coloured curtains around the window. The door was plain wood, and she knew for sure this was _not_ Manticore. There was a glass of water on the chest beside the bed, and in the chair beside that, sat a woman with a kind face. Her uniform gave her away as a nurse.

"Shh… relax." She said gently, "Calm down."

"Where the f*ck am I!?" Faith demanded. The woman looked sympathetic,

"It's ok, you're in a hospital dear."

"A hospital?" Faith repeated.

"Yes, Faith, a hospital. You were moved here yesterday- the doctor thought you would be happier here." Faith frowned- what the hell was going on!?

"Where's my baby?" She asked. The woman raised her eyebrows, and sighed,

"Oh my dear…" She said, "They said you would take some work…"

"Huh?"

"You don't have a baby, Faith. You have to let go of the delusions…"

"Delusions? What the hell are you talking about? Where's Naomi? I'm not crazy- they took my child!"

"No, dear. You've been in a psychiatric facility for almost a year now."

"What!?" Faith exclaimed, "No no no… I'm not crazy- not anymore- I went to the lab, an Lyde.."

"No, Faith…" The nurse insisted, "You must listen to me. There is no one called Lydecker. You never went to any lab! You were removed to the facility when the prison guards reported your peculiar behaviour."

"Prison… no… not… I haven't…" Faith shook her head in frustration, "I escaped!" she cried, "To help Angel!"

"These people don't exist, Faith, it's all in your head, I'm sorry."

"NO!" Faith yelled, straining against the straps. "Lemme go!" She demanded. Not that it surprised her, but soon enough another nurse appeared with sedatives. She drifted off to the thought that pretty soon she'd have more sedatives in her than blood. 

Over the next few months, Faith was treated for her delusions. The doctors told her they didn't know how long she'd been having them- it was very possible that these people she kept talking about never existed even before she was in prison. Apparently talk with Police and justice system officials suggested that her crimes had even been based on these hallucinations. Eventually, Faith began to realise that if there were this many people who claimed it was all un-true, then maybe it really was. She stopped fighting. She went along with the exercises and treatments, and after over four months in the hospital, the nurse came in with a huge grin on her face.

"Today is the day, sweety." She said. Faith resisted the ugre to make gagging noises, and just raised her eyebrows. The nurse came forwards, and removed the straps. "No more restraints." She said. Faith almost didn't believe her.

"Serious? No more? I can move?"

"Yep!" The nurse squeaked "You can even have a shower!" It sounded dumb, but Faith had been supervised constantly for months. She'd never been anywhere with restraints or handcuffs, never even trusted to be alone for the length of time it took to wash. So for her, this was big.

"Wicked!" Faith exclaimed. 

So that day, she had a shower, and all the things that she'd convinced herself of melted away with the water when she was able to examine her own body. There was a nasty scar on her stomach- if Buffy didn't exist then where the hell did that come from? Sure they'd explained away the bite mark on her throat, but coupled with this, as well as the extensive stretch marks… _I know I was never that fat._ Faith thought. She _had_ had a child, she had fought Buffy, she had been bitten by Angelus, she had not been hallucinating. She felt sure that if she looked in old papers, then Sunnydale would have collapsed into the ground for unknown reasons; All the inhabitants will have left about a fortnight before; and Faith knew, just simply knew that she had had another life within her. Lydecker had sent her here- tried to make her forget by thinking she was crazy. She did not know why she wasn't dead. She had no clue why he hadn't just gotten rid of her- but she did know she was getting out as soon as possible.

Faith kept up the pretence anyway. She pretended that everything was fine, even after many months more had past. She couldn't risk trying to escape- if she was caught, they would know she had been faking, and I would just start all over again.

Faith had been there over a year. She hated it, but put up with it because she knew she had to.

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Sorry it was short, but there will be more eventually. *sheepish grins*

Please review!


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